Cultural Revolution, in full Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, Chinese (Pinyin) Wuchanjieji Wenhua Dageming or (Wade-Giles romanization) Wu-ch’an Chieh-chi Wen-hua Ta Ke-ming, upheaval launched by Chinese Communist Party Chairman Mao Zedong during his last decade in power (1966–76) to renew the spirit of the Chinese Revolution. Fearing that China would develop along the lines of the Soviet model and concerned about his own place in history, Mao threw China’s cities into turmoil in a monumental effort to reverse the historic processes underway.